Revelation 9:4

Revelation 9:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
• New International Version (NIV)They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Context of Revelation 9:4

2When the star opened the entrance, smoke came up out of the hole. It was like the smoke from a very big hot fire. The smoke caused the sun and the sky to become dark. 3Then locusts came out of the smoke and they came down on the earth. They received power to cause great pain, like the power of scorpions. They knew that they must not do anything bad to the grass on the earth. They must not attack any plant or any tree. They could only attack people who did not have God's seal on the front of their heads. 5The locusts did not have authority to kill those people. But they could cause them very bad pain for five months. Their pain was like the great pain from a scorpion when it hurts someone. 6During that time of great pain, people will want to kill themselves. They will want to die, but they will not find any way to die.

Revelation 9:4 word by word

καὶ ἐρρέθη αὐταῖς ἵνα μὴ ἀδικήσουσιν τὸν χόρτον τῆς γῆς οὐδὲ πᾶν χλωρὸν οὐδὲ πᾶν δένδρον, εἰ μὴ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους οἵτινες οὐκ ἔχουσιν τὴν σφραγῖδα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπωνRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• it was commandedἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• they shouldἀδικέωadikeō · to harmG91
• notμήmē · notG3361
• the grassὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the grassχόρτοςchortos · grassG5528
• of the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
• neitherοὐδέoude · norG3761
• anyπᾶςpas · allG3956
• green thingχλωρόςchlōros · greenG5515
• treeδένδρονdendron · treeG1186
• butεἰei · if: notG1487
• onlyμόνοςmonos · aloneG3441
• thoseὅστιςhostis hētis ho6ti · who/whichG3748
• menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• which haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• notοὐou · noG3756
• the sealσφραγίςsphragis · sealG4973
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• inἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• foreheadsμέτωπονmetopon · foreheadG3359

Cross-references for Revelation 9:4

• Revelation 6:6Then I heard a sound like somebody speaking among the four beings. The voice said, ‘A litre of wheat is worth one day's work. And three litres of barley is also worth one day's work. But do not destroy the olive oil and the wine.’
• Revelation 7:3But he shouted to them, ‘Do not destroy the land or the sea or the trees yet. Wait until we put a seal on the heads of God's servants. God's seal on the front of their heads will keep them safe.’
• Job 1:10You do not let any bad things happen to him. You keep him, his family and all his things safe. You have given him success with everything that he does. His many farm animals are everywhere!
• Psalms 76:10Everybody will praise you, even those who are angry against you. You will show them how angry you really are.
• Matthew 24:24Some people will say to you, “I am the Messiah!” Other people will say, “I am a prophet from God.” But their words will be false. They will do strange and powerful things for people to see. If possible, they would even deceive the people that God has chosen.
• 2 Timothy 3:8These are people who speak against God's true message, in the same way that Jannes and Jambres spoke against Moses. Their minds have become confused. The way that they serve God is false.
• Revelation 8:7The first angel made a sound with his trumpet. Strong rain with stones of ice fell on the earth. The rain was mixed with fire and blood and it poured down. It burned a third of the earth. It destroyed a third of the trees and all the green grass.
• Revelation 14:1Then I looked again and I saw the Lamb. He was standing on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. There were 144,000 people there with him. The Lamb's name and his Father's name were written on the front of those people's heads.
• Exodus 12:23The Lord will pass through the country and he will kill the Egyptians. But when the Lord sees the blood on the wood round the door, he will pass over that house. He will not let the death angel come into your houses. The Lord will not let him kill you.
• Job 2:6So the Lord said to Satan, ‘I agree to give you power over Job himself. But you must not cause his death.’
• Ezekiel 9:4He said, ‘Go everywhere in the city of Jerusalem. Find the people who are very sad because of the disgusting things that people are doing in the city. Use your pens to put a mark on those people. Put the mark on the front of their heads.’
• Ephesians 4:30Do not do anything that will make God's Holy Spirit sad. God gave his Holy Spirit to you to show that you belong to him. As a result you know that God will make you completely free one day.

Commentaries on Revelation 9:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4They should not hurt the grass - Neither the common people, the men of middling condition, nor the nobles. However, this appears rather to refer to the prudent counsels of a military chief, not to destroy the crops and herbage of which they might have need in their campaigns. Which have not the seal of God - All false, hypocritical, and heterodox Christians.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And it was commanded them - The writer does not say by whom this command was given, but it is clearly by someone who had the direction of them. As they were evoked from the “bottomless pit” by one who had the key to that dark abode, and as they are represented in Revelation 9:11 as under the command of one who is there called Abaddon, or Apollyon - the Destroyer - it would seem most probable that the command referred to is one that is given by him; that…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4The locusts come down to earth from the smoke. They have the power to sting like scorpions. They are fiercer than those in the Egyptian plague (see Exodus 10:14–15). Instead of eating plants, these locusts attack people like stinging scorpions. Only people without the seal of God (see Revelation 7:1–8) experience this painful judgment. The stings cause painful torture but do not cause death (Revelation 9:5–6).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. not hurt the grass ... neither ... green thing ... neither ... tree--the food on which they ordinarily prey. Therefore, not natural and ordinary locusts. Their natural instinct is supernaturally restrained to mark the judgment as altogether divine. those men which--Greek, "the men whosoever." in, &c.--Greek, "upon their forehead." Thus this fifth trumpet is proved to follow the sealing in Re 7:1-8, under the sixth seal. None of the saints are hurt by…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 9:4

• Locust
• Trumpet
• Vision
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Abaddon
• Angel
• Authority in Religion
• Color; Colors
• Forehead
• Government
• Grass
• Jair

Commentaries on Revelation 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings